We dove at the last site, which turned out to be an odd boulder formation protruding from the sea's sandy bottom.

"Maybe we should dive the other section that falls just over 190 feet?" Cap suggested, and I was keen.

"No, Cap. The rules are there for a reason, and if anything goes wrong, you'll be held responsible," Eva countered. "You know Nora doesn't like us taking chances," Eva talked him out of it.

"None of us are certified to go to that depth, anyway," she reminded.

"I am," I suggested, secretly chafing at the bit.

"You can't dive alone," Cap said, having already decided against his idea.

Nora and Andrew were not sticklers; diving was a dangerous business for humans. Many things could go wrong with even a shallow pleasure dive, and shit could happen to the most experienced diver in seconds. The company did what it could to ensure no diver got hurt or dead on their watch. The manual was as thick as my arm.

"Pack up; let's call it a day," Cap said.

I sighed and did as he suggested. What would be the point of arguing?

"We'll explore the atoll tomorrow. They say it is a goldmine of marine wonders," Cap said, stowing his tanks, and the others were suddenly more animated. It took me a moment to realize they were also disappointed with Cap's decision.

They talked about the atoll during dinner, but my mind was elsewhere. I felt a pull, a need, to find the Maria Theresa, and that call steadily got stronger as time passed. Why? I had no idea. Did I want to prove myself? No. It was something more... primitive. Instinctive.

At midnight, with the others safely asleep and only one crew member up on the bridge, I took my chance. I snuck from my tiny cabin, past all the others, with my pulse thundering in my ears. Shaun was more interested in some magazine and the iPod plugged into his ears than the sea around the ship. He wouldn't see a Kraken emerge from the water.

I navigated from shadow to shadow toward the stern and the part of the rail hidden in shadow and stripped until only my bikini remained. The air had a pleasant bite to it.

Climbing the ladder on the other side of the boat when I returned, without being seen, might be tricky, but jumping into the pitch-black waters was even scarier. By my estimation, we were four hundred feet from the site we discussed during dinner. Give or take.

I slipped off my bikini bottoms because, contrary to popular belief, clothes didn't magically morph along with my lower body. That would have been so cool.

Being in the water without a wetsuit was glorious, and I felt alive for the first time in weeks. I hid the bikini bottom and allowed myself to sink beneath the waves and changing took only a moment. The first few times were an excruciating experience because I resisted the change, but it became second nature.

I felt different instantly, less human and more powerful. A mermaid's sense of direction was as accurate as GPS, and stopping my descent, I took my bearings. We always knew where we were and where we were going. A few powerful strokes of that long, scaly fishtail propelled me forward through the water, and I allowed my body to level off as I steered with my arms.

I raced just to feel the rush of water and the exhilaration boiling through my veins—the thrill of being something so extraordinary.

As I pushed myself harder, I cast aside the days and weeks I could not be myself, but the distance was far too short, and before I properly stretched my muscles, I had arrived.

The darkness beneath the sea was no darkness to me, and I saw through it all in a black and white spectrum, just as the dark of night hid nothing from me.

Even through the murky waters, something below caught my eye, and as my descent brought me closer, the outlines dissolved into an ancient sailing vessel, yet something about it didn't feel right. I had the distinct impression the Maria Theresa broke into two pieces as it floundered.

It was also too intact to be from the correct time period. Too much of its wooden bows remained, and from it was the wrong size. The Maria Theresa was much larger—a magnificent sailing vessel with twenty-two cannons to protect its cargo from those ancient pirates.

Only six gun hatches still protruded from the ocean floor, and two cannons hung askew in their hatches. At this depth, the ship teemed with life, and this close to the atoll, it wasn't just a school or two of fish. A magnificent diversity of ocean life had flocked to this artificial reef, and I watched them go about their business for a while.

The water near the atoll was amazingly clear, and the seas were a cool blue during the day. I drifted in that direction but picked up a familiar sound and smirked.

Two dolphins cruised by on their way somewhere but spotted me and came to say hi. Dolphins loved me, and I loved them. I didn't know if it was that way for all merfolk, but I was the only one I knew.

They came close and made those little clicking sounds they always make, coming right up to me and bumping me playfully. I knew I shouldn't dawdle; I had to return to the boat, but I could not resist and played with them.

It was like having two amiable and brilliant dogs. Like a child, I lost track of time as we cavorted, dove, raced, rolled, and did tricks. I realized the water was getting lighter with a shock and rubbed each of them quickly beneath the chin; I got my bearings and sped back to the boat.

I allowed my tail to disappear and put my bikini bottoms back on before grabbing onto the ladder and climbing the rungs. I was so out of breath but felt like I could move mountains. A smile remained plastered on my lips, even as my body cooled. It was quite chilly out of the water, and although I barely noticed the cold when swimming, I didn't appreciate it in my human form and had goosebumps. Humans might find my swim, under these conditions, a little odd.

"What the hell are you doing? Do you want to get sick?" Cap demanded unexpectedly from behind me, and I almost jumped out of my skin.

He could not have seen my tail under the murky water, and he wasn't around when I retrieved my bikini bottoms, but it didn't stop the terror from worming through my stomach.

"I spent a lot of time in England, and I am used to cold water," I managed, taking control of myself. I lifted my body to a standing position so he would not be looking down on me and retrieved my clothes,

He was tall and above me on the platform as I turned. Ridiculously, I didn't particularly appreciate being clad so skimpily in front of him, not with the way his eyes roamed briefly over the toned planes of my body before becoming unreadable.

Never had I felt so naked in a bathing suit before a man. I aimed to return to my cabin, but he handed me a huge towel. I quickly dried my wet skin and wrapped it around my body.

I shouldn't have spent so much time playing with the dolphins. I took an unnecessary risk, but I needed the feeling of the sea closing in around me more urgently than ever.

"Go take a warm shower, and don't let me catch you swimming alone again. These are deep waters, you could have drowned, and nobody would know," Cap commanded roughly, and I nodded.

I felt like a little kid caught stealing cookies, and I hated my awareness of his large body as he followed me to the door leading to the lower cabins. I went down, and he made his way to the bridge.

Tired now that the adrenaline rush had faded, I was glad no one else was around to see me. I fetched my kit from my room and padded to the tiny bathroom, locking the door. A quick rinse removed the salt water from my hair and body, so I could dry myself and get on some clothes.

We arrived for breakfast just as the light crested the water in a magnificent sunrise, only marred by my preoccupation.

Cap didn't seem to have told anyone, but then Eva glanced at me, and I suspected she knew. She didn't say anything until we were all waiting our turn to get on the smaller boat to go to the atoll with our gear, and we had a moment alone.

"Cap told me you took a swim this morning," Eva said in a conversational tone.

"Yes," I admitted sheepishly.

"Don't do it again; the rules are there for a reason," Eva scolded slightly, and I nodded. "Looking forward to this little excursion?" And just like that, it was all over.

"Yes," I admitted, and she motioned for me to go first. We stepped onto the little boat and rode the waves to the island, barely passing over the lowest part of the reef.